


A Simple Man

by bittersweet_desire



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bottom Derek Hale, Established Relationship, Feels, Flashbacks, Future Fic, Hand Jobs, Hope, M/M, Memories, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 18:57:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/601039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bittersweet_desire/pseuds/bittersweet_desire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I want you to promise me that you’ll take your time. That you listen to what your heart has to say. That all that is important in this world is love and that you trust in it.” </p>
<p>“I promise Mom.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Simple Man

**Author's Note:**

> Derek reflects on his life and on something his mother told him years ago. Set at some point after S2.  
> Inspiration comes from the truly beautiful song 'Simple Man' by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Beta'd by the amazing [ellevantemm](http://archiveofourown.org/works/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&work_search%5Bquery%5D=elleavantemm) :)

And be a simple kind of man.  
Oh be something you love and understand.  
Baby be a simple kind of man.  
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?

I was thirteen when my mother sat me down. She had done the same with Laura two years previous and I wasn’t surprised when she told me to come sit beside her.

In our family turning thirteen was a rite of passage. A time when we turned from children into adults. A time when our first shift happened and I knew that whatever she would tell me would be of importance. I still remember her words now, exactly the way she spoke them, as if not a day had passed since that surprisingly warm autumn day. But over time I had lost faith in her words. Finding it hard to make good on the promise I swore to keep.

She was insistent that I pay attention, tucking me into her side. I still sometimes feel the ghost of her touch on my arm and my heart clenches in pain at something that I will never get to feel again. But I think that just makes that day stand out more in my memory because of it.

Sunlight filters in through the blinds, the warm breeze blowing an earthy scent into the room. Her hair shines midnight black against my white shirt. 

_“Baby.” She huffs out a little laugh at this and turns her blue eyes unto me. “I shouldn’t really call you my baby anymore. You’re all grown up now.” Her hand strokes down my arm and I can’t help but lean in a little closer. I don’t think I will ever tire of hearing her say it, even if I won’t admit it aloud._

_“You are now entering a stage where you will look a girls, or boys, differently and I want you to know that all we want for you is that you find someone that you’ll love with all your heart and who loves you back just as fiercely.” Her eyes are holding a warmth in them that penetrates deep into my heart._

_“All that really matters Derek, is that love and the happiness it will bring you. It will get you through tough times and will help you be a better person.” She smiles at me and I can see the truth in her eyes. She has all this and more with dad._

_“I want you to promise me that you’ll take your time. That you listen to what your heart has to say. That all that is important in this world is love and that you trust in it.”_

_“I promise Mom.”_

Oh, take your time... Don't live too fast,  
Troubles will come and they will pass.  
You'll find a woman, yeah yeah and you'll find love,  
And don't forget son, there is someone up above. 

When I met Kate I was so sure that I had found everything that I ever wanted. I was shy of sixteen and despite the supernatural running in my veins, I was an awkward teenager. I found it hard to integrate into normal high school life. More comfortable with my family; with my pack. I wasn’t scrawny but strength wasn’t ingrained in my body as it is now. Girls didn’t pay me much attention and I wouldn’t have known how to talk to them anyway. 

But then Kate came along and everything changed. She was beautiful with her golden hair and her easy smile. She was five years older and knew so much more about the world than me. I had grown up in the woods of Beacon Hills, having spent all my life there. She told me stories about her travels, promising she would take me along the next time she went away. I trusted her completely, naive to her manipulations at gaining my trust. She was experienced and took great satisfaction at being the first to show me what sex was all about. She used it as her personal tool to get me to open up to her more and more. In our quiet moments, I told her about my being a werewolf; secrets about our family; and an alarm bell should have rang when she accepted it all too willingly. But I was head over heels in love, letting her into my heart, giving her everything she wanted. I was young and stupid and when she broke that trust one fatal night, I lost almost everything that was dear to me.

Laura never spoke an angry word to me, but I desperately wanted her to. I needed to hear toxic words that would bite into me. Wanted to feel her hard blows on my body. I craved the emotional and physical pain that would, for one glorious moment, allow me to concentrate on something else than the crushing guilt I carried around. I hated myself with everything that I possessed and if it wasn’t for her non-negotiable Alpha command I would not be where I am now. But she never gave up on me. She pulled me through the toughest time neither of us should have ever experienced in our young lives. She was an unmovable force; her strength enough for the both of us. She proved to be the Alpha she was always raised to be. 

And then… Everything changed. 

Laura had left for Beacon Hills from Boston only a mere three days earlier, trying to finally settle the condemnation action and subsequent demolition that was out on our home. She understood that there was no way I would be able to go back and watch the house that I helped bring to its current state be further destroyed. She left me in Boston despite the pain our separation would bring to the both of us. Not even two days after her departure, I felt a tearing in my gut that was strangely familiar to one I experienced not too many years ago. Despite my best laid plans to never ever return to Beacon Hills, it was inevitable. 

When I first met Siles, it was another day in autumn, the cold settling underneath my skin. I shouldn’t have noticed him at all, given the newly bitten werewolf at his side. But when I turned to walk away, his voice grabbed my attention, dragging it away from Scott. Oh how I initially despised that voice. His defiance and smart-ass remarks grating against my nerves. He never knew when to shut up; but I had to hand it to him: He was smart. Hell, he still is and always will be. He’s clever beyond his years. And I came to realize it was his astute observations about people and situations that got to me the most. I had created this persona after my family died and I wasn’t ready for anybody to figure out the person that I could be. I was happy living in a permanent state of misery. It suited how I felt on the inside. I knew though that if I were to give myself the break that everyone insisted I deserved my world would yet again turn 180 degrees. I wasn’t ready for it. I’m still not sure if I am now but god, Stiles. Stiles with his grating chatter in my direction. His unwavering loyalty to me for no other reason than him thinking I deserved it. His feelings for me that turned from lust to love have made me look at myself in a way I never thought could happen again and it scared me more than I thought possible.

Forget your lust, for the rich man's gold  
All that you need, is in your soul,  
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try.  
All that I want for you my son,  
Is to be satisfied.

When I started building my pack, it was solely for adding power to my weakening forces. Scott had made it clear many times over that he would never accept me as his Alpha; and despite his helping hand, it wasn’t enough. What I got in the end, after months and months of Stiles’ help and input, was a tight-knit group of betas that almost felt like a new family. And months it had taken. Months of learning to trust people again. Months of getting everyone I surrounded myself with to trust in me. It had been hard. I had to fight against my baser instincts and rely on others, when all I wanted was to push everyone away so I wouldn’t get hurt again. I doubted their initial intentions, not trusting that anyone would actually willingly stand by my side. But time and time again, each and everyone of them proved me wrong. Proved that I was worth the fight. I guess everybody’s wall of defence cracks at some point. Even mine. 

It’s not surprising that it was Stiles that challenged me the most. There were times when the wolf inside of me wanted to do more than growl at him over his complete lack of submission. He gave just as good as he got and it was solely the human side in me that kept my reactions from ever reaching more severe consequences. And yet, it was exactly this that made me look at him in a different light. I desired to have someone by my side that knew how to stand up for themselves. I needed... No, I wanted someone strong of mind and will. He gives me all that and so much more. He provides for the pack without a second thought. He puts everyone before him, much to my dismay. He is loyal and I have to admit if it weren’t for his total objection, I would have turned him long ago. The thought of losing him makes my wolf crazy with despair. His vulnerability had me lose focus on a threat to our peace on more than once occasion. But it’s the human side in me that is and will always respect his wish to not be turned. No matter how much I hate it.

Boy, don't you worry... you'll find yourself.  
Follow your heart and nothing else.  
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try.  
All that I want for you my son,  
Is to be satisfied. 

It’s funny how your mind drifts sometimes. In moments when you least expect it. Right now, Stiles’ hand is wrapped tightly around my dick, his fingers creating a delicious friction as he moves his hand up and down my length. He changes the pressure, tightening his grip on me slightly and I can’t help but leak a copious amount of precum onto my stomach. An overwhelming desire to claim him in more ways than one threatens to engulf me and I have to shut down the temptation to overthrow and bite him. I can’t help my fangs from lengthening in my mouth and I welcome the blood they draw. It anchors me back to this moment and I can feel his quick fisting of my dick in every one of my nerve endings. His breath puffs warmly against my skin and even if I can’t see it, I can feel his smile against my neck when a long, low moan escapes my mouth. I come embarrassingly quickly, my cum shooting in thick streams onto my stomach, his name escaping my lips much like a prayer.

Much later, after he has claimed me by finding his own release deep inside me, he is tucked safely into my side, his soft snores escaping into the room. I bury my nose into the crook of his neck and I’m happy in the knowledge that I made good on the promise I made to my mother all these years ago.


End file.
